You need to put your health first yet so many of us will leave our health at the bottom of the priority list, leaving it unattended until it gets to late and we fall into ill health.

We seem to take health for granted and that makes us feel invincible up to the point that our health fails and then we look at our health. This attitude is clearly wrong and it is up to you to take preventative action with your health and this will not only make you feel better and more energetic, you will also have your body literally thanking you and add years to your life.

The western culture, in particular the US and the UK are getting fatter and becoming overweight and obese. As a result of this more people are trying to slim down and lose some weight but the problem here is a lot of people are not trying to lose weight for the right reasons. Losing weight should be because you want to do it for yourself and not for any other reason such as your boyfriend / husband wants you to lose weight. The motivation needs to come from within for you to successfully lose and keep off the weight. How many times do people lose several pounds in weight only to put it back on within a few months.

It really is important that you “love yourself” before you decide to embark on losing the weight. Irrespective of your size now you must have the self belief and confidence in yourself that you not only look and feel good now but you are going to look and feel great after you start your new lifestyle choice, yes lifestyle choice and not a diet. It is so important that you incorporate your healthy living lifestyle into a way of life rather then having the mentality of doing a diet otherwise you are unfortunately more likely to fail.

Good luck in your lifestyle change and well done to making the decision to change.

It goes without saying that everyone hopes to have, and maintain, good health. Sometimes though, with the wealth of information available online it can be difficult to sift through all the complexities and find a good, simple to follow plan. That is why I have created this easy health plan that anyone can follow to achieve a healthy lifestyle.

Diet

For many, diet is a scary word. However when I say diet I dont mean only eat 1,000 calories worth of lettuce, I mean eating a health balanced diet. The general recommendation is 2,000 calories per day for a woman and 2,500 calories for a man. It also matters where you get these calories from. You should cut down on foods containing high amounts of animal fats and salt as these can cause lead to heart problems and often contain very few nutrients. Instead you should try to eat more lean meat, fruit, vegetables and cereals, snacking on items such as nuts and yoghurt.

Most people tend to eat three big meals a day but it is much better for you to eat between four and six smaller meals a day. This puts less stress on your digestive system, and gives you a constant supply of energy throughout the day.

What you drink is also very important. A glass of water contains almost no calories whereas a glass of regular Cola contains 140 calories and is full of additives. So try to drink water rather than soda.

Exercise

It is very important, for both physical and mental health to take regular exercise. You dont have to become a gym rat but 30 minutes of exercise three times a week is enough to keep your body in good health. This exercise could take the form of brisk walking, jogging, lifting weight, aerobics or whatever physical activity you enjoy – as long as it gets your heart pumping it will do you well.

I would recommend that you employ a one day-on, one day-off system where you exercise one day, take the next day off and so on so that you build up a regular routine.

Hygiene

Hygiene is an issue that sometimes is forgotten when talking about health but it is important to keep good hygiene to avoid germs and bacteria that can causes illnesses. Keeping good hygiene is pretty easy and most people will already be following a good plan.

Washing your hands, disinfecting your kitchen and bathroom and vacuuming regularly as well as properly cooking meats will kill germs and keep you safe and healthy.

Relax

Relaxing allows your body and mind time to rest and recover from the everyday stresses that are put on them. Relaxing is probably the easiest thing to do on this list. You find something that you enjoy and make the time to do it. Some particularly relaxing hobbies include meditation, yoga, reading and self hypnosis.

Socializing

Scientific research shows that people who socialize regularly feel happier and live longer. So endeavor to spend quality time with your family and/or friends.

Remember that you can mix socializing with both relaxation and exercise. You could, for example, take a yoga class with a friend – or make friends whilst you are there.

I hope that this plan will give you an easy way to maintain your good health in 2011.

When God created man, He was happy with the work and even said it was good. The bible also says that you are fearfully and wonderfully made. This is because you were created in the image and likeness of God. God is not a sickly, oppressed and confused being. No. He is perfect in health – His state is not even about health but life and divine life for that matter.

God’s will is that you may enjoy good health through out your life. This is His perfect plan for you. He says “I am the Lord that heals you”. This is a sure commitment from your God and Creator that any time you fall sick, He is willing to heal you. You get healed by receiving His word as the bible says how He sends His word and that word heals all your diseases.

God is not just excited about you getting sick then healing you, but has a good plan to preserve you in good health. He can protect you against all manner of sicknesses and diseases that seem to be afflicting every one around you.

In the third letter of John and verse 2, the bible says “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers”. God’s will for your health is not just limited to your physical body, but he wants you to experience emotional and spiritual healing also. Your mind needs to experience divine healing for you to make accurate and rational decisions.

As you pray, ask God for healing in all aspects of your life because it is His will to do so and it is also your right as His child. Do not stay oppressed by sicknesses, diseases, confusion and heartaches. You can pray like this “heal me oh Lord, and I will be healed”.

It is becoming increasingly evident that fad diets simply do not work. For those of us who are beginning to see the light and are beginning to take responsibility for our own health weight loss plan, this is good. We are through with fad diets once and for all. We are beginning to get the message that we have been sold a bill of goods. Not that some diets are completely evil, but we are beginning to see a bigger and more promising picture for our total health weight loss plan.

It is no longer about blind restrictions in what we should eat or not eat, but about our understanding of why. When we have an understanding of why, as is the case in any arena, it gives us an increasingly advantageous position of why we should follow thru into the next step, which is carrying out the empowered action. Understanding empowers action.

Having said this let’s take a look at sugar, for example. We have heard too much is bad for us, even though we crave the taste in the foods we choose to eat. Eating sweet stuff can be a special treat, but if we were to discover that excess sugar has detrimental consequences to our health, our decision to cut down would be played out as an empowered action.

Medical journals and science reports support the following ten facts in reference to taking in too much sugar in the diet.

1) Sugar suppresses the immune system – one can of soda (containing eight table spoons of sugar) can compromise it by 50%!

There consist of rapid diet systems as well as healthy weight loss diet systems. Fast dieting plans for example cabbage or grapefruit diet programs provide wonderful results in fast periods of time. Sorry to say, those types of dieting systems are unable to be kept up. Typically, a human body is deficient in nutrition while following those fast weight loss plans since food groups are left out. Once that diet program is discontinued then fat usually is regained in addition to a little more. This situation happens since a person’s metabolic rate slows down when using the majority of fast weight loss systems. That illustrates the reason why great fat loss results are short lived.

People may notice permanent fat loss is feasible if healthy dieting systems are implemented within everyday routines. Basic adjustments of specific food products can make enormous differences for determining whether body weight is gotten rid of or else put on. For example, consuming Canola oil having hydrogenated oils promotes unwanted pounds. Whereas, consuming olive oils results in loss of pounds. One more example is drinking sugary soda having processed sugar promotes extra weight. Where, drinking lemon flavored water contributes to weight loss. Both of those illustrations could determine whether fat is gotten rid of or put on. Individuals will find no secret diet pills or tricks necessary to achieve permanent weight loss. Just good judgment will be necessary.

Using rational thinking will mean consuming better foods that provide nourishment. These food products should be packed with antioxidants, minerals and vitamins. The human body will perform correctly when it receives enough nutriments. Therefore, good judgment would recommend nourishing weight loss diet systems should be utilized as opposed to fast weight loss plans.

Additional benefits for maintaining a healthy dieting system consists of lowering chances of illnesses such as hypertension and sugar Diabetes. The expense of health insurance is rising annually. Many people must use his or her social security income to pay for health costs. Preventive maintenance for example using an appropriate dieting program will save money down the road. Every day people can hear all about whole savings being liquidated to pay for health related expenses.

Eating healthy does not guarantee not having cancer. Nonetheless, lowering risks of medical conditions will be much better compared to nothing. Excessive body fat stores contaminants that help to develop illnesses. Being at an ideal body weight will reduce pollutants as well as deformed cells. This particular situation will be the top protection anybody has in dealing with diseases individuals encounter during life. Sticking to healthy weight loss diet programs can be a valuable adjustment to better overall health.

If you have let your health go for a long time and are now looking in the mirror ready to cry, read this. When we are young, we often think we are invincible. No need to worry about middle age, that’s never, never land. No need to concern ourselves with eating right, there will be plenty of time for that later. Well eventually ‘later’ catches up and now you have so much to worry about, what do you do now? If you are like most people, you decide it’s time to start eating right and get on an exercise routine and start taking supplements. You jump in with both feet and work like crazy to get into shape. By the end of the week you are exhausted and starving and decide to wait until next year. Whew, that was a bad week. Next year rolls around and you are in even worse shape and you start the cycle all over again. How about trying a different technique? It is obvious the former plan isn’t going to work no matter how determined you are. It’s time to try plan B. What is plan B? Make one decision and stick with it. Set one goal and work on only that goal. You can’t change your entire existence in one day so stop trying. Decide right now that you are going to pick one factor of your health and work to improve it. If you are over weight and out of breath and lacking energy, don’t try to start an exercise routine right now. You will fail! Plain and simple. First start to work on your eating habits. If your weight is OK but you are tired all the time, again, don’t try to start an exercise routine right now. First research vitamin deficiencies and start using supplements to improve your energy. Look at a good B Complex Vitamin. If your weight is OK and you have lots of energy, you are probably already getting exercise so take your routine to the next phase. Most of us are over weight and out of breath and lacking energy. So this is where we will want to start. Now, how do you start? Go on a diet? No, you already tried that last year and it didn’t work remember? Take diet pills? No, you tried that too and thought you were going to have a heart attack from all the jitters. Those pills are still in the medicine cabinet from last year too. Go on the cottage cheese and oatmeal diet? No, how long are you really going to be able to eat cottage cheese and oatmeal? What if I told you, you can eat all the foods you love and still lost weight? You would probably tell me I am crazy. That’s what you have been doing and look at what happened. Instead of trying to change what you eat, why not try changing how you eat. Change your bad eating habits and you will lose weight effortlessly. If you could change the way you eat and still eat all the foods you love, do you think you could stick with it long enough to lose that extra weight? Sure you could! Not wanting to give up pizza and cake is what’s kept you from sticking to a diet in the past, right? Sound too easy to be true? Well it’s not. The way you eat is what’s keeping you over weight. What you eat is much less important. Really!

There are several options available to you when it comes to selection of health insurance plans. Specifically there are the Indemnity plans which offer the most flexibility in choosing which physicians they prefer to use. Then there are managed health organizations such as PPO’s or Preferred Providers Organizations and HMO’s Health Maintenance Organizations these types of plans usually require for you to use physicians from their pool of select providers. The POS or Point of Service Plan is also a form of managed healthcare but it differs in that it requires all insured to first visit the chosen primary care physician to obtain a referral for any additional medical treatment. In recent years there has been an expanded interest in a new form of health Insurance called an HSA’s or Health Saving Accounts that allows for consumers to self managed health care cost. The idea is to provide low premium health insurance by utilizing a tax advantaged saving account that earns interest and combining it with a higher deductible insurance health plan that offers much lower premiums but requires the insured to cover some of the initial cost. As consumer health care cost continue to soar it is important to do your research and determine what types of coverage features are important to you and your family. As well some of the plans have commingled the different features to establish new plans that meet different consumer needs and premium tolerances. Here are a few simple guidelines to help you make an educated decision for a plan for yourself and or your family. Indemnity Plans Indemnity plans as mentioned before have expanded physician choices giving your more flexibility in selecting your services, this type of plan is also know as fee for service health insurance plans however the trade off is usually reflected in higher health insurance premiums since you are not choosing a physician from within the network. All plans are not exactly the same and what services covered or physicians you can use may still vary from plan to plan. Indemnity plans usually combine both a deductible and a co-insurance which is the factor that can affect your final out of pocket expense. The deductibles offered may vary from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars. The coinsurance may also have options so if you chose a coinsurance of 20% you would be responsible for 20% of any procedure and the insurance would cover the other 80%. Most Indemnity plans have a cap or stop loss that once a certain percentage or dollar amount of the coinsurance is met the policy will cover 100% of all covered expenses up to whatever the Lifetime maximum is within your plan. Managed Health Plans or Network Plans Health Maintenance Organizations prearrange for reduced health care expense through a network of physicians who have agreed to work within the organization at discounted fees. The HMO usually requires you to select a primary care physician from within the network. The idea is to use the network to both reduce healthcare cost and better manage what treatments are sought out by the patient. The benefit carries on to the consumer with lower premium cost. A preferred provider organization (PPO) is another form of managed care, yet more closely similar to the indemnity type plans in that you have the option to select your own physician either from the network or outside of the network with the difference being that the cost of service is usually lower inside the network. Like the HMO a PPO negotiates price discounts for service with the physicians and care facilities, who become members of the PPO which passes on the savings to consumers in the form of premiums. Many consumers like the idea of having the ability to choose a specialist from the PPO network without having to see the primary care physician first for the referral. A Point of Service or POS is also a managed plan but differs in that you are required to allow your primary care physician to act as an initial starting point for all medical service. The primary care physician is chosen by the insured from within the network and referrals and usually that specialist from within the network. Self Managed Healthcare a New Breed of Plans Emerge The concept behind Health Savings Accounts (HSA’s) is that you choose a plan with a high deductible because plans with higher deductibles have much lower monthly premiums as low as ½ of the indemnity plans. The savings in premium for the high deductible plan is then placed into a Health Savings Account HSA owned by you. The contributions to the HSA are 100% tax deductible from your income up to the legal limits and the money accumulates tax deferred sort of like an IRA for healthcare. As long as the money is used for any qualified healthcare cost then it is also tax free. The best part is the contributions are yours to keep and they continue to accumulate interest. If you change jobs or become self employed the HSA account goes with you, and unlike Flexible Spending Accounts that have the “use it or lose it provision” these accounts do not forfeit your contributions. Currently the contribution maximums are $2900 annually for an individual and $5,800 per family. Most plans allow for one deductible per family per year. The risk is your out of pocket expense could be higher in the beginning until you accumulate enough funds. There are riders for these plans for any major medical needs to cover the deductible in the beginning while you are accumulating funds. The risks are not without reward though the premiums are much lower than traditional heath insurance plans and as mentioned previously the contributions are deducted from taxable income. If you choose this option it is important to make sure you study the plan carefully and make the monthly contributions or the plan will not be affective alternative to the higher premium plans.

This cancer originates in immature nerve cells and is the most common cancer among children and infants with an estimated 650 new cases annually in the United States only. This is a neuroendocrine tumor that arises from neural crest element of the SNS (sympathetic nervous system). Most often it occurs in one of the adrenal glands but can also develop in the nerve tissues of neck, chest, abdomen and pelvis.

Symptoms of neuroblastoma

This cancer has vague symptoms in its initial stage that makes the diagnosing task really difficult. At later stages it has these signs:

Loss of appetite

Joint pain

Fatigue, weakness

Swollen tummy and constipation due to the presence of a tumor, if it affects abdominal region

Breathing problems due to tumor in chest nerves

Tumor in bone around the eyes can cause noticeable swelling and bruising

Pallor from anemia can be caused due to infiltration of the bone

Inability to walk, stand or crawl because of the presence of tumor on spinal cord

Pain in legs and hips or limping due to bone lesions in that area

Rare symptoms are:

Ataxia (in 1.3 percent of the cases)

Opsoclonus myoclonus syndrome (1.3 percent of cases)

Treatment-resistant diarrhea (4 percent)

Homer’s syndrome (2.4 percent)

Hypertension(1.3 percent of the cases)

Transverse myelopathy (tumor spinal cord compression) that occurs in 5 percent of the total neuroblastoma cases.

What are the causes of neuroblastoma?

It is really important to be well-informed about the major causes of this cancer of the nervous system. It is not clearly understood why it affects a person. It can be caused due to various factors such as:

Genetic history

Exposure to chemicals in some industries

Excessive alcohol intake

Smoking

Drug and some medications taken by the mother during pregnancy

Infection

Hormones

Fertility drugs

Hair dyes

Atopy

How is neuroblastomy diagnosed?

Several techniques are used to detect this cancer. These are:

Imaging

Biochemistry

Screening

Imaging

Neuroblastoma is diagnosed with the mIBG scan (meta-idobenzylguanidine) that is carried out in 90 to 95 percent of all neuroblastoma patients. mIBG is done on sympathetic neurons which reveals the presence of a tumor there.

Biochemistry

There is an increased level of catecholamine or their metabolites in the blood or the urine in 90 percent of the patients affected by neuroblastomy. So it is a strong indication of the presence of this cancer. Dopamine, VMA (vanillylmandelic acid) and HVA (homovanillic acid) are included in catecholamine and their metabolites.

Screening

Healthy infants with no symptoms of neuroblastomy are given a screening test at three weeks, six months and one year in many developed and health conscious countries since 1980. But recently it was not practiced in some parts of the world due to zero reduction in the deaths caused by neuroblastoma. Among the infants, it made diagnosis that would have gone without treatment of any sort. But the children were operated on with surgery or chemotherapy unnecessarily.

How to treat neuroblastomy?

At beginning, when the tumor is not widely spread, this cancer is quire curable with long-term positive results and a high survival rate. These are the options to treat this disease: